My penultimate week here in Toronto was filled with plenty of walking, a movie festival (my first!), and a couple of treats.

On Monday afternoon, I went to a screening of Endings, Beginnings at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)–a film about modern love and relationships. Afterwards there was a Q&A with director Drake Doremus and one of the film’s leads, Shailene Woodley. During the Q&A, they revealed the script was almost completely improvised–how impressive is that?

On my way back, I came across a red carpet premiere for a movie called The Laundromat just starring Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas and Meryl freaking Streep (!). Myself and a very large crowd got to see all three stars as they arrived and went into the theatre–one woman walked away crying after seeing Meryl up close.

Tuesday I went to Aloette, a modern French-influenced bistro/diner. There I had cheddar toast with roasted yeast butter (complementary), the Aloette Burger & Fries, a perfectly cooked medium-rare beef patty topped with Beaufort cheese (similar to Gruyère), lettuce and onion and served with an addictively tasty Bloody Mary aioli on the side–a perfect dip for the crispy golden fries that came with the burger. If you’re into burgers + good fries, you need to come here.

For dessert, I had lemon meringue pie, a buttery graham crust filled with a sweet, mouth-puckeringly tangy lemon curd and topped with a cloud of meringue perfumed with lime zest–a wedge of lime also comes on the side to squeeze over top if you’d like. Delicious and rich, I had trouble finishing my slice.

On Saturday, I went to see Hustlers with Tiffany (highly recommend it). Beforehand, I went to Bobbette + Belle for a slice of cake–I’m making sure I get my fill before I leave. I tried the cookies & cream cake, a chocolate cake with an oreo-filled cream filling. This was unsurprisingly another delicious winner. After the movie, we went to Avling back in Leslieville.

We shared their Ploughman’s Board with in-house butchered/made sausage, fermented vegetables, pickles and crackers; Grilled Seasonal Veg over a house-made dip (we think it was a baba ganoush); and the Savory Turnip Cake with buttermilk ranch I’ve mentioned in a previous post. Everything was really tasty and their beer + cocktails were just as good. If I lived in Toronto full-time, this place would be my go to neighborhood spot.

And with that, there’s one week left–looking forward to exploring a couple of new areas and revisiting some favorites. Until next week!